Is she broody or not

[TNRIRRoo]

I have a RIR hen who will sit on the eggs most of the day. Won't let me anywhere near them. Then she just up and jumps off of them. One night I went in to collect eggs and she was on the nest again. Lasted all the way through the next day then same thing. She just left the nest. Eggs got stone cold so I picked them up.

Is she thinking about a brood or just messing with me?

 

[rancher hicks]

That depends on how long she stays off the nest. From what I understand RIR's rarely go broody. But it's not impossible. I would watch to see how long she stays off. If it's hours during the day she probably is not broody. If the only time you see her in the nest is at night then she is not. For me it's hard to find a broody off the nest. So...

1. she an RIR.
2. If she stays off for hours.
3. If she is only on the nest at night or evenings.
All of these would be indicators she's not. What 's cold to you may not be cold to a chicken, so I wouldn't go by that alone.

Broody hens do not get off if you reach under them and I would expect a RIR to be very determined to keep you out. They only get off once a day and for short periods to poop and eat and drink. They appear to be in a trance somtimes staring off in to space and ignore you, but not always. None of these is a hard fast rule as it depends on the breed and whether she is a "good" broody hen.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

RIRs are suppost to be egg layerss, not broodies. So you should probably spray her with the water hose. And she will probably stop.